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Uruguay confident Luis Suárez will make World Cup despite knee surgery Uruguay confident Luis Suárez will make World Cup despite knee surgery
(about 3 hours later)
Luis Suárez has not been ruled out of the World Cup despite undergoing surgery on Thursday after injuring his knee in training. Luis Suárez remains in contention to face England at the World Cup despite undergoing knee surgery 24 days before Uruguay’s opening game in Brazil.
It had been feared that the Uruguay and Liverpool striker could miss part, if not all of the tournament, having suffered a meniscus injury on Wednesday. Uruguay suffered major disruption to their tournament preparations on Wednesday when the Liverpool striker reported a knee problem that MRI scans confirmed as meniscus damage. Suárez had a minor operation on Thursday, described as “a success” by the president of Uruguay’s football association, Wilmar Valdez, but no timescale has been placed on his recovery. Uruguay commence their World Cup campaign against Costa Rica on 14 June.
However, the Uruguay Football Association released a statement following his surgery in Montevideo at 7.30am local time saying they were confident the 27-year-old will recover from the relatively routine procedure in time for the finals. There are concerns, perhaps not shared by Roy Hodgson and the England team, that the 27-year-old will miss the start or all of the first World Cup to be held in South America since 1978. But the AUF (Uruguay Football Association) released a statement following the striker’s operation in Montevideo expressing confidence that the forward will be fit for the tournament. They also suggested the injury was linked to a knock Suárez suffered in Liverpool’s final Premier League game of the season against Newcastle United on 11 May.
“ Luis Suárez suffered an intense pain in his left knee after undergoing a normal warm up,” the statement read. “The early diagnosis was a stable injury to the external meniscus in the knee. He was examined by a scan, which confirmed a partial injury to the external meniscus. This morning the meniscus was repaired via arthroscopy at the Médica Uruguayan hospital. There was no evidence of other injuries to the knee. “Luis Suárez suffered an intense pain in his left knee after undergoing a normal warm-up,” the statement read. “The early diagnosis was a stable injury to the external meniscus in the knee. He was examined by a scan, which confirmed a partial injury to the external meniscus. This morning the meniscus was repaired via arthroscopy at the Médica Uruguaya hospital. There was no evidence of other injuries to the knee.
“His participation at the World Cup has not been ruled out. In terms of relevant clinical history, it is worth noting hat he suffered a blow to his left knee during the last game of the Premier League season with Liverpool, which provoked a pain that subsided with rest following the end of the season.” “His participation at the World Cup has not been ruled out. In terms of relevant clinical history, it is worth noting that he suffered a blow to his left knee during the last game of the Premier League season with Liverpool, which provoked a pain that subsided with rest following the end of the season.”
Recovery times for meniscus repair for footballers range from three to 10 weeks but the full extent of Suárez’s injury has not been confirmed. He did not miss a game through injury for Liverpool last season, when his stunning form was rewarded with the PFA and Football Writers’ player of the year awards, and would be a severe loss to Uruguay, who face England in Group D, should the damage prove severe. Suárez was on the receiving end of a poor challenge by Paul Dummett in that game, for which the Newcastle substitute received a straight red card that was later rescinded, although it is unknown whether the injury is linked.
Oscar Tabárez’s side open their World Cup campaign against Costa Rica on 14 June and play Roy Hodgson’s team five days later. Early reports from Uruguay claimed Suárez would miss the opener but be available for the games against England and Italy. His match fitness, however, would be in question. The striker’s operation in Montevideo was performed by Dr Luis Francescoli, brother of the legendary Uruguay striker Enzo. Recovery times for meniscus repairs in footballers range from three to 10 weeks, but while initial estimates are for a rapid return for Suárez there will be doubts over his match fitness when the World Cup commences.
A Uruguayan FA spokesman, Roberto Pastoriza, said earlier that surgery had been inevitable for Suárez, who reported the problem only a day after joining the national team following an end of season break. “According to the report I received a while ago, they are optimistic that he can play the World Cup,” Pastoriza had said. That said, the striker did not miss a single game through injury for Liverpool last season when his stunning form yielded 31 goals and a host of individual honours, including both the PFA and Football Writers’ player of the year awards.
“Suárez felt a problem in his knee, so he went for some tests. It all happened very quickly. The matter is being looked after by the national team’s medics.” Reports in Uruguay have claimed he could be back in training in two or three weeks but may miss the opener against Costa Rica in readiness for the remaining Group D matches against England on 19 June and Italy five days later.
Suárez will almost certainly miss World Cup warm-up games against Northern Ireland on 31 May and Slovenia on 5 June. Valdez allayed Uruguayan fears over losing their leading striker for the World Cup. He told La Ovacion; “We know the surgery was a success and that the injury is not serious. We have to wait and see how he recovers. These are injuries that, considering Suárez’s fitness and if the recovery is good, will not take long for him to return to play.”
Liverpool have yet to be informed about the extent of the striker’s injury but it is standard practice for a national FA to contact the player’s club when he requires surgery. A meniscus problem, at this time, would be highly unlikely to impact on Brendan Rodgers’ preparations for the 2014-15 campaign. Suárez will almost certainly miss Uruguay’s World Cup warm-up games against Northern Ireland on 31 May and Slovenia on 5 June. He was leading goalscorer in the South American qualifying group for Brazil, finishing with 11 goals, one more than Argentina’s Lionel Messi, and his absence would be a major setback for Oscar Tabárez’s team even with fellow strikers Edinson Cavani and Diego Forlán available.
Liverpool have yet to be informed about the extent of the striker’s lay-off but it is standard practice for a national FA to contact the player’s club when surgery is required. A meniscus repair, at this time, would be highly unlikely to impact on Brendan Rodgers’ preparations for the 2014-15 campaign. Suárez and all of Liverpool’s World Cup contingent are to be given a minimum three-week holiday once their involvement in Brazil is over.